Mud House Year

A Few of My Favorite Nashville Things - Part II

                                                                        Bang Candy Company Bang Candy Company specializes in artisan marshmallows, half-dipped in chocolate.  It's located in the old Marathon Car Factory building. Flavors include chocolate chile, rose cardamon, orange ginger cinnamon, espresso, and toasted coconut.  These are such yummy treats!  I am using them for favors on Christmas Eve.  Sarah was very helpful with my order!  For more information, check out their website.

 

                                                                         Vanderbilt UniversityOne must venture beyond the hustle and bustle of West End and 21st Avenues to appreciate the beauty of the Vanderbilt Campus. In fact, I hardly knew it was there.  Once I entered it's tree-lined perimeter, I discovered it is what I always imagined a southern university would be - all red bricks, green leafiness and white columns...oh, and magnolias, of course.  It's also an excellent institution of higher learning.   It's a lovely place to walk and contemplate - you'll feel smarter just being there!

 

                                                              Food Trucks
Alluring and elusive and so, so worth it.  See my post here.  Nashville has a bountiful bevy of food trucks.  I think my favorite, so far, is Smoke Et Al. 

  I ordered the smoked pork belly tacos and fried okra. Yummy doesn't begin to describe it - so good!

 

                                                            Hillsboro Village This is a funky four block area along 21st Avenue, just south of the Vanderbilt campus.  Davis Cookware is there along with other quaint shops and restaurants.  During my visit, several pop-up stores opened for the holidays including Cake Vintage, where I did a little Christmas shopping. You will also find the legendary Pancake Pantry in Hillsboro Village, but be prepared to wait in a line that winds down the sidewalk if you decide to eat there.  Also, McDougal's is just around the corner.

 

And, a final tip-of-the-hat to the original...           GiGi's!  Gigi's Cupcakes are just so photogenic I had to include one more picture!

I'm saying goodbye to Nashville tomorrow.  I will write one more Nashville post before I go.  

 

 

Pinterest Wednesday (This one's for Conner)

Quinoa Mac & Cheese
This will be the last Pinterst Wednesday from Nashville and I'm finally a little more comfortable cooking in my kitchenette.   I decided to try another reasonably healthy recipe to counterbalance all the pralines and pork bellies!  I adapted this recipe for Quinoa Mac & Cheese from Around the Table:  Loving Food in RI & Beyond. Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

• 1  cup quinoa (measured before cooking), cooked per package directions
• 2 tsp butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chicken broth. divided
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped broccoli (you can use any vegtables you want or leave vegies out completely)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• good dash of ground pepper
• dash of nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese, more for sprinkling
• Toppings - more cheese, sprinkle of nutmeg (optional- salsa, hot sauce, sour cream, scallions)

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Coat 8x8 inch dish (or 4 individual ramekins) with cooking spray or butter.
Saute mushrooms and broccoli separately  - each in 1 tsp butter and 1/4 cup broth. Combine salt, spices, egg, milk, and cheese in large bowl and mix well. Add cooked quinoa, mushrooms, broccoli and any remaining liquid from cooked vegetables.  Mix well. Transfer to prepared baking dish.  Top with cheese and sprinkle with nutmeg.
Cook 25-30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.  My Nashville friend who is a diehard mac & cheese purist really liked this dish.  I was shocked!  She actually ate two huge portions.  I thought it was pretty good and I will definitely make it again.  It isn't mac & cheese but it is so much healthier!

I'm giving it 4/5 Prickly Pear Margaritas because it's good and healthy, but it's not mac & cheese.
   

Next week I will be back in the Mud House kitchen getting ready for Christmas!

 

A Few of My Favorite Things - Part I

                                                  

I am so fortunate to have spent almost three wonderful weeks in Nashville!  As my visit comes to an end, I am thinking about a few of my favorite Nashville things.  Some I have already told you about, but I am including them again because I love them so much!

 

                                                             Vicki Sawyer                                                    
                                                    

First of all,  there is Vicky Sawyer and her amazing birds (and other animals).  If you haven't yet, please check out her website - so wonderful!

 

                                                                                     Davis Cookware "Well, Ma'am you can't sell from an empty cart."  Mr. Davis replied when I commented on how much there was to see in his store.  

Davis Cookware has been in Hillsboro Village for 43 years.  It is stuffed to the rafters with everything you could ever need for your kitchen.  It also carries over 50 types of coffee beans and I don't know how many types of loose tea.  They also sharpen knives and bill themselves as, "Home Of the Knife Whisperer."  Designed and staged - definitely not.  Original, charming, whimsical, complete, and reliable - yes.    If I lived in Nashville, this would be my "go-to" place for everything kitchen related and for the wisdom, history, and lore of Hillsboro Village. 

 

                                        Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company 

Voted America's Best Chocolate by Southern Living Magazine, Olive and Sinclair make small batch, slow roasted, and stone ground chocolate right here in Nashville.  These lovely bars are already packed and ready for the trip home to the Mud House where they will find themselves snuggled into a few lucky stockings on Christmas Eve.  Here is their website:  Olive and Sinclair.  

 

                                                                  Midtown Wine and Spirits
I love little bottles of anything.  I think little bottles of liquor are especially enticing, for obvious reasons.  I  also love how their shapes exactly mimic much larger bottles.  My first few days in Nashville I popped into a couple of grocery stores looking for a bottle of wine.  I found beer, but no wine.  I soon learned that Tennessee liquor laws vary by county and are complicated - wet counties, dry counties and everything in-between.  You can read more about it here, if you are interested.  Anyway, I discovered that in Nashville, liquor and wine are sold only in liquor stores.  Beer may be purchased in grocery stores.  Midtown Wine and Spirits not only has an amazing selection of everything you can imagine containing alcohol, they also have a wonderful selection of mini-bottles.  I bought some for a few of the adult stockings I will be stuffing. For more info please click here. 

 

                                                             Pralines by LeonNo visit to this part of the world is complete without sampling some pralines and Leon's is the place to try them.  Pralines by Leon is located in downtown Nashville on 2nd Avenue.  It has been in it's current location since 1994 but its history can be traced back to 1888 when Leon's Greek grandfather Constantine moved to New Orleans and began making candy.   You can read much more about Pralines by Leon and the other wonderful candy they make by checking out their website.  You can also order on-line.  If you are in Nashville it is absolutely worth a visit.

 

 ... Stay tuned for Part II of a Few of my Favorite Things...

 

 

Food Trucks, Finally!

The very thing that makes food trucks so charming also makes them somewhat elusive.  They are trucks, or they are pulled by trucks, and they move around, a lot.  I've been hearing about Nashville food trucks for some time now, especially the Grilled Cheeserie, which happens to be my Nashville friend's absolute favorite! Everyday I've checked the Grilled Cheeserie's website for their location. Everyday, they've been far away. However, on Thursdays, food trucks gather in Centennial Park, the Grilled Cheeserie among them!
Yay!
I patiently waited in line then ordered the "B & B of Tennessee".  It was a tough decision because my friend seriously recommends the "Pimento Mac & Cheese," which is an actual grilled mac and cheese sandwich. I also ordered the tomato soup and the tater-tots because I wanted to try the "tot sauce."
I usually find tater-tots disappointing but these were crispy and hot, with a touch of spice.  The tot sauce was a blend of ketchup and "something smokey."  It tastes almost like cocktail sauce with smokey undertones - very nice.
The" B&B of Tennessee" is Sweetwater Valley Buttermilk Cheddar, Benton's bacon, house-made caramelized onion, and apple jam on multigrain bread.  It was simply delicious.  The bread was perfectly grilled with a caramelized crust.  I think my favorite, though, was the tomato soup.  It was warm and steamy and offered a little something extra - tarragon I think. 

Not only is the Grilled Cheeserie my friend's favorite food truck, it is a favorite of all of Nashville!

However, to mix things up a bit, my friend ordered from Yayos OMG which offers original Mexican gourmet food by Chef B "Yayo" Jimenez.
We sampled the Albondigas soup.
It was full of fresh vegetables, mini meatballs, and noodles in a nice tomato base.  Fresh cilantro is added at the last minute.  We also tried the Legend tacos which offers brisket, chorizo, and chicharron.
Very tasty!  I requested the hot sauce which was flavorful with a nice kick of crushed pepper.  

If you visit Nashville I highly recommend the food truck scene.  It's a bit of an adventure to find them but that's part of the fun.  Most trucks post their locations on twitter and many have websites that list their weekly schedules.  On Thursdays, many trucks gather in Centennial Park on West End Avenue, behind the train.

Pinterest Wednesday

Now, I know y'all are thinking that I am living in a hotel and eating nothing but fried chicken and cupcakes.   And, I know y'all are probably worried about how many seats I will need on the airplane ride home.  So, to put your minds at ease (and because cooking in my little kitchenette has its own set of challenges) I have selected a delicious caprese salad for this week's Pinterest Wednesday.
This recipe comes to use from The Party Dress and it is pretty self-explanatory.  I splurged and bought heirloom tomatoes, a little basil plant, and some really good mozzarella at Whole Foods.
I also bought some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and decided to make a balsamic reduction on my portable induction cook-top.
I combined some vinegar and some sugar, which fortunately I found next to the mini-coffee pot in my room because I didn't buy any.   I know, resourceful. 
I simmered the vinegar and sugar for about five minutes and then allowed it to come to room temperature. 
It was thick and syrupy and delicious.

I sliced the tomatoes and sprinkled them generously with sea salt.  Then I assembled the caprese salads with the cheese and basil.  Lastly, I drizzled them with olive oil and the balsamic reduction and gave them another sprinkle of salt.  These are so pretty and I think the color makes them especially nice for the holidays.

These salads are easy, beautiful, delicious, reasonably healthy, and not fried or frosted.  Aaaand, you can make them in a hotel kitchenette!  I think we have a winner.  This one gets 5/5 Prickly Pear Margaritas.
    

No worries, I'll be back to my Nashville food adventure tomorrow.  I think we may stake out some food trucks!!  Stay tuned!

Cupcakes, Seriously.

Ok, so we all know cupcakes have been around for a while, and, believe me, no one knows that better than I do.  I've sampled them from Pasadena to Portland, Maine and I can say with no hesitation that I've found the best.  You know you are in trouble when you keep the cupcake daily menu next to your bed and the last thing you do at night is check the next day's baking schedule.  Seriously.
Gigi's Cupcakes can now be found around the country (unfortunately not near the Mud House) but the original, the very first one, opened in Nashville in 2008 and it is two blocks away from my hotel. 
I love Gigi's story as much as I love her cupcakes and you can read about it here.  It's tough to pick my favorite, but I think it might be the Caramel Turtle Cupcake pictured at the top of this post.  But, they are all absolutely delicious...Gigi also makes yummy mini-cheesecakes.  The pumpkin cheesecake is at the bottom left above.

If you would like to find out more about Gigi's cupcakes check out her website, gigiscupcakesusa.com/home.

 

Anything Whimsical, Anything Colorful, Nashville Edition

                                                 

Oh my goodness, oh my gracious.  I've found a new artist to love.  Anyone who knows me, knows I love birds.  And you know how much I love colorful, whimsical art.  I walked into this funky little place called Cake Vintage around the corner from my hotel and there, on a shelf above the register, were several mini portraits of the most fanciful, wise, and whimsical birds I have ever seen.  My jaw dropped and I just stared.  The gal behind the register told me that the artist firmly believes that if birds can make their own nests, well, then, they can certainly make their own hats. Sounds completely reasonable to me.  In fact, I can't think of anything more logical.  The longer I stared, the more I fell in love with these birds.  Each had its own hat, its own personality, and the expressions on their faces told me everything I needed to know. 


 The artist is Vicki Sawyer and she paints things other than birds.   

                

But the birds are my favorite.

Here are some of her comments, copied from her website:

"When I was a little girl, my grandfather taught me how to identify the plants on our walks in the woods. My mother’s childlike joy in even the simplest things taught me to be visually aware. From my dad I received my love for birds."

"Shortly after moving to Tennessee, I went for a walk and thought, 'If birds could build nests, then they could make hats.'  This whimsical notion has been the inspiration for many bird and animal portraits."

"I want my work to evoke feelings of peace, joy, and often humor." 

I was struck by how much Vicki's philosophy regarding art mirrors my own.  In my original "Anything Whimiscal, Anything Colorful" post I said this,  "I am inspired by art that supports a lighthearted, energetic, and carefree atmosphere... Their color and energy touch something deep inside of me, sparking joy and peace-of-mind."  I also said this about Chris Bubany, one of the local Arizona artists whose work I love, " Her designs are charming, colorful, and quaintly humorous. " 

Vicky Sawyer creates whimsical, colorful, joyful, peaceful, humorous, dignified, wondrous birds.  I love her birds. She is having a showing of her original work this weekend in Brentwood, TN.  I'm going.  

                                                                                       

                                           This one is called Armando.  Of course, I love his prickly pear hat.

I emailed Vicki and asked her if I could write about her and use some of her pictures.  She wrote back right away and gave me permission to use her art on this post.  Thank you, Vicki!  To learn more about Vicki and to see more of her remarkable art, please visit her website by clicking here.   You may also order many delightful items showcasing her art at zazzle.com/vickisawyer.

I've said it before but I will say it again.  I stand in awe of gifted artists who have the ability and talent to create such lovely images.  What an incredible gift to bring such joy, beauty, and humor to this world. 

 

 

Music City

I am taking a little trip away from the Mud House to spend some time in Nashville before the holidays. I've fallen in love with this place.   It may sound a bit "new-agey," but there is an energy here.  There is a southern light and natural warmth.  People are simply nice and there is live music everywhere you go - literally in the air.  You hear it in shoe stores, book stores, honky-tonks, and coffee shops.  You feel that deep and genuine history of country music - Patsy, Tammy, Loretta, Dolly, Elvis, George, Scotty Moore (look him up - he's who Keith Richards aspired to be).  There is that Nashville Sound.
I feel a connection here.  Maybe it's the similarities to my southwest home - the cowboy boots, jeans, country music, horses -  but there are also some differences that are drawing me in.   For one thing, the seasons actually change here.  There are trees with leaves that fall.  It's cold, without being freezing. The air is crisp.  

I'm staying in a little hotel with a little kitchenette.  Not quite sure how to bake in the micro-convection oven.  I asked at the front desk, they don't know either.  So, my food blogging will be, let's just say "creative," for a little while.  Pinterest Wednesday may be a challenge but, hey, a little "Pinterest Wednesday Kitchenette Style" might be fun (I'm being optimistic here).  Or, maybe we will substitute "Food Truck Wednesday" for "Pinterset Wednesday."  We will see...

The good news is, the food traditions in Nashville are as deep-rooted as the music.  It will be fun to share some of my food experiences, if for no other reason than to give me an excuse to eat.  I will share some places that may not be on the usual travel guide radar, but are worth a visit none-the-less. Today I am going to one of my favorite places.  We are not talking health-food here, but we are talking delicious. The first time I heard about McDougal's, I said, "I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I am."  Actually I said, "I do NOT like chicken fingers, never have, never will.  I will not eat them in a boat, I will not eat them with a goat!" (Thanks Dr. Seuss.)
I was wrong.  I love chicken fingers.  But only if they are from McDougal's. My favorites are fried, tossed in buffalo sauce, and served with a side of blue cheese.  You can choose fried or grilled; tossed in sauce or sauce on the side; or both.  The sauces include original buffalo, tearjerker, honeybee, gold, ole smoky, citrus chipotle, blue cheese.  Click here if you want to know more.   I am serious when I say these are the only chicken fingers I will eat and I crave them like crazy when I go home to the Mud House.  

Could someone please explain the whole Texas toast thing, though?  What's with the fat piece of buttered white toasted bread?

Anyway, if you make it to Nashville and you do or you do not like chicken fingers, give McDougal's a try. Let me know what you think.

Please stay tuned for more posts from Music City and I will be back at the Mud House before you know it.

 

 

Pinterest Wednesday

Now that the last scraps of turkey are gone, my thoughts turn to something easy and light.  This recipe comes to us from Plain Chicken and it's billed as "Better Than Augusta Egg Salad."  I've never been to Augusta so I will just have to take Plain Chicken's word for it.   I figured a plain chicken would know a thing or two about eggs, so I decided to give it a go.   I know, I know egg salad is usually a summer thing and it is almost December.  The temperatures here at the Mud House are still in the 70s so, as usual, the lines between the seasons are a bit blurry.  I added my own little southwestern twist with the addition of some splashes of Tabasco, avocado, and grilled bread.

Better Than Augusta Egg Salad
6 hard-cooked eggs, diced
1/2 c diced celery
2 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp pepper

(I added Tabasco and some sliced avocado.)

To cook the eggs:
Place the eggs in a single layer in a heavy saucepan and cover with cold water by at least one inch. Add a teaspoon of salt. Leaving the pot uncovered, turn the heat to high. As soon as the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and cover. After 10 minutes, remove the cover and run cold water over eggs for 1 minute. 

To peel, gently tap each egg against the counter, turning to make a crackle pattern. Start peeling at the broad end, where there is an air pocket.
To make the egg salad: Combine all ingredients and chill.

I sliced and generously buttered both sides of some sourdough bread and grilled it.

I thought the egg salad was a little "meh."  Kind of bland.  I like a bit more kick!  But, that's just me.  It also needed a little more mayonnaise and a touch of mustard.   The best thing about this recipe is learning how to cook a good hard boiled egg.  Not only did the eggs peel perfectly, they were light, not rubbery.   

I'm giving this one 3/5 Prickly Pear Margaritas.
   

 

What a Wonderful Day!

The Mud House Thanksgiving was just so much fun!
It was, as usual, a beautiful, sunny day.  The table was set with wine bottles, each holding a single zinnia from the cutting garden.  A bright red bandanna was placed above each plate for guests to wear. Everyone pitched-in and the food was delicious...

and funny...

Of course, it was the little things that made it really special.

 There is simply no substitute for being surrounded by those you love.  Thank you to my dear family for spending this wonderful day with us at the Mud House.  I love you guys!

And now, on to Christmas.

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!